A Merry Spartan Christmas
December 23rd, 2544, 12:22 Hrs Highland Mountains, Viery Territory Reach, Epsilon Eridani system Alaska grinned as he eagerly stepped off the back of the Pelican dropship, breathing in the crisp mountain air, tinged with the hint of pine as the Pelican took off once more, its cargo delivered. After years away from home, the UNSC had decided to grant him and some of his fellow Spartans time off for the timeless holiday that was Christmas, even allowing them to spend it near to their old training facility. As he strolled through the ankle-deep snow towards the main building, Alaska wondered who else might be joining him for Christmas. John and Blue team weren’t expected till the 24th, due to being nearer the front than he had been, Green team and its ever-changing roster were somewhere in the Ectanus 45 system, and Red Team were a complete mystery to him. Sighing to himself at the prospect of being alone for the time being, he entered inside, wiping his snow-covered boots on a convenient mat, however, as he was removing his coat, he caught the unmistakable aroma of chocolate, hot chocolate to be precise. Quickly he glanced at the row of hooks, seeing a second, smaller coat hanging there, which he hung his next to, before curiously following the smell to its source. Soon he found himself in what must have been the kitchen, finding a figure fussing over a pair of mugs, humming a familiar military march as she did so. “Ahem,” Alaska began, getting the woman’s attention, who turned to face him, revealing the nametag emblazoned on her T-shirt, which read ‘Carris-137’. “Alaska?” Carris asked, grinning as she stepped over to hug her fellow Spartan, who returned the hug in earnest. Alaska hadn’t seen Carris in over fifteen years and it showed, last time he’d seen her she’d had a buzzcut, and had been wearing the same uniform as all of the other Spartan-II’s. Now though the only thing she wore that was standard was the black t-shirt with her name on it, paired with a pair of khaki cargo pants, a dark blue zip-up hoodie and a pair of worn leather boots. Her hair had changed also, now her black hair was in a short crop, with striking blue highlights which noticeably matched her eyes, which was probably why she had them. “Carris! What’s up?” Alaska happily beamed as he let go, adjusting his faded teal hooded sweatshirt with the UNSC emblem on the chest. However, his green eyes drifted over and noticed a second mug, “Who’s that for?” he queried, Carris simply sighed before answering. “Ah, that’s Joseph’s,” Carris explained, Alaska simply grinned at this news. Like Carris, he hadn’t seen Joseph in over a decade, however, Carris’s expression betrayed her true impression to this fact. “Erm, what’s wrong?” Alaska queried, Carris just sighed before grabbing the other mug and gesturing towards the door. “It’s probably best if you see for yourself,” Carris explained as she led him out into the corridor and into a rec room, where Alaska immediately noticed the figure lying on one of the couches facing away from him, wearing a grey T-shirt, a pair of black sweat shorts. But what caught Alaska’s attention was the thick bandages that surrounded the figures left knee. “Joseph?” Alaska asked, prompting the figure to turn his head to look at him. Joseph had changed remarkably in the previous fifteen years, his blonde hair was noticeably longer, with a beard now adorning his chin, wrinkles were also starting to creep over his face. What caught Alaska’s attention the most were Joseph’s eyes, which when he had last seen them, had been full of life. Now though, Joseph just looked tired, not even when he had been in his post augmentation slump had he looked as bad as he now did, any life seemed to have been sucked out of him, leaving just a husk of a man behind. “What happened?” he asked, his normally overly happy tone of voice falling to a weak, worried one as his eyes darted over Joseph’s prone form. "I looked right when I should have looked left," Joseph answered, his tone noticeably less warm as Carris’s. Carris meanwhile took the opportunity to slip past and had Joseph his mug, giving him a reassuring pat on his shoulder as she did so before she turned to face Alaska. “C’mon Al, I’ll make you one too, since your here now,” Carris commented, silently gesturing for him to follow, which Alaska, still confused by Joseph’s cryptic reply, did so. Upon reentering the kitchen, Carris let out a deep sigh before rubbing her brow as Alaska lent against one of the cabinets. “Okay this will sound rude but what the hell happened to Joseph?” Alaska inquired, glancing over his shoulder to see if Joseph had followed them before returning his gaze to Carris. Who simply grabbed a fresh mug and turned to put in the chocolate powder before she explained. “Joseph was with Gold Team on Miridem and got his knee shot out by a sniper,” Carris began, causing Alaska to feel a pang of dread, Gold Team had been officially disbanded a few months prior, following casualties that had been sustained on Miridem. But also a sense of confusion, he’d seen his fellow Spartans wounded multiple times in the past, and they had never responded. Carris however, was not finished, and as she turned to reboil the kettle, Alaska saw the look of dread in her face. “The thing is, he did so whilst he and Sheila were escorting Doctor Halsey to her dropship, which left her without any backup when an Elite attacked and killed her before help could arrive,” she continued, as she poured the now scalding water into the mug. Alaska meanwhile, simply stood in silence, the reason for Joseph’s chilly mood dawning on him like a sunrise. “Then, throw being unable to help in the rescue mission ONI and John ran to get her back, which resulted in Solomon getting incinerated by an antimatter bomb, and Arthur getting crushed between two Covie ships, followed by months of surgery and isolation from the rest of us!” Carris fumed, before pausing to compose herself as she poured in a dash of milk to the steaming mixture. “Well you start to get an idea of what’s wrong with him,” she sighed as she handed Alaska his mug, before reaching for her own. Alaska meanwhile was silent, his normally massive appetite was gone for a change, guilt always killed the urge to eat everything he could find. Slowly he brought the mug to his lips, the scent of warm chocolate causing his feeling unending hunger to return. Cautiously he took a sip, careful not to burn his tongue, whilst he composed himself to give a response. “That’s...wow that’s horrible. I thought...losing...my first team to a pack of Brutes, being left pinned under rubble and unable to help was bad...but that’s terrible…” Alaska murmured finally, glancing at Carris, who’s face betrayed her own opinion. “Yeah, well all we can do is try and be supportive,” Carris noted as she gulped her drink, “We can’t exactly force him out of this slump after all,” she added, mimicking Alaska by leaning against the counter. “Yeah, I understand,” Alaska replied nodding thoughtfully, before quickly draining the mug in one massive gulp, before letting out a muffled burp, which brought a cheeky grin to Carris’s face. “That was so good, just what I needed!” He exclaimed, however, before Alaska could say anything else, his train of thought was rudely interrupted by his stomach loudly growling, loud enough that even Carris could hear it. “Jesus Al, when did you eat last?” Carris queried, prodding at Alaska’s stomach, which brought a laugh out of the bigger Spartan. Alaska just chuckled at this thought, trying to word exactly what his ‘light lunch’ had contained. “Erm, just...um...a whole box of MREs...some Marines may go without lunch for a while…” Alaska answered sheepishly, although, in his opinion, and defence, they had been less a food and more a source of nourishment. Carris however, simply burst out laughing hysterically, forcing her to put down her mug to prevent her from dropping it. “What?” he asked visibly confused, at this Carris glanced up, only to burst out laughing again, this time so hard, that she doubled over. Finally, she composed herself and stood back up straight, her face grinning from ear to ear. “Christ Al, I knew you ate a lot, but that’s a bit much even for you!” Carris giggled as she reached into a cupboard, pulling out a mostly eaten packet of biscuits. “Here. Just remind me to never invite to buy you dinner, you’d bankrupt me, the restaurant and probably the UNSC!” she sniggered, handing Alaska the packet. “True,” Alaska acknowledged, his appetite was legendary for a reason after all. However, at that moment, he suddenly had a brain wave, inspired primarily as a result of that particular time of year, but also as a way to try and help Joseph out of his slump. “Hey, since we’re going to be here for the holidays, maybe I could make a Christmas dinner?” Alaska proposed as he munched on the remains of the packet, finding them to be cheap off-brand chocolate digestives, without a doubt the best kind in his humble opinion. “Christmas dinner? God, I can’t remember what those were like!” Carris mused, probing her memories to see if anything came to mind, which due to the indoctrination they had been through, nothing surfaced. “I mean, it would be a lovely idea, but could ‘we’ pull it off?” she asked, emphasising that she wanted to get in on this plan. “Wait, you want in on this?” Alaska asked, receiving a confirmatory nod from Carris, “Well, we’ll need a lot of food then, and not just to handle my appetite, since everyone else is meant to turn up at some point, so I doubt a turkeys going to cut it, hell, we’d need at least five of them” he mused as Carris moved to put both their empty mugs in the sink. “Hmm, Veg isn’t going to be an issue since this place is stocked with stuff for other meals, Turkey’s are going to be a problem since I doubt we have anywhere enough for all of us,” Carris noted only to suddenly have a brainwave. “What about Moa? They’re much bigger than a turkey, and they are a lot easier to find anyway,” she suggested, causing Alaska to almost salivate at the thought. “That...is genius! I’d have never thought of that on my own...even though I think with my stomach,” Alaska laughed, a warm smile on his face as he nodded in agreement with Carris’s plan. “I’d better not do the hunting though, seeing as my idea of shooting is hosing an area with lead till everything is dead, how's your shooting?” he asked, only to receive a sigh from Carris. “No dice, I use a shotgun for a reason, I could hit a target on a range, but a Moa is an entirely different ballgame,” Carris replied, bowing her head in thought. “Wait, I might have an idea that’ll get around that problem,” she offered unsurely. “What have you got in mind?” Alaska queried, only for Carris to gesture towards the neighbouring room, which confused Alaska at first, before his eyes went wide as he finally realised what Carris’s suggestion was. December 23rd, 2544, 13:44 Hrs Highland Mountains, Viery Territory Reach, Epsilon Eridani system “Can I just say that I hate you both immensely and equally!” Joseph shouted as the Warthog barreled across the snow-covered landscape. One minute he had been lying on the couch, resting his injured leg, the next, Carris and Alaska had forced him into combat boots, cargo pants and a winter coat, then bundled him into the passenger seat of a Warthog, claiming they needed his help with some ‘Christmas preparation’. Exactly what they had meant was a mystery to Joseph, but by the presence of an old sniper rifle, a bundle of rope, and a practically drooling Alaska, he was sure it wasn’t going to be good. “You may since you’ve been complaining the last 10 miles!” Carris grinned as she drove the Warthog along the snow-covered track as Alaska sat in the back, sniggering at the scene playing out before him. “Hehe, this is gonna be fun! And seriously, Joseph, you know you’re the best shot outta my sibs...remember the one time I tried to use an SRS?” Alaska playfully quipped while turning to face his grim-faced brother. “You mean the time you couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn, tried some ‘ percussive maintenance’ and broke the scope,” Joseph clarified before turning to face Alaska, “and aren’t you forgetting Linda? If I’m a crack shot, she’s an angel of death,” he pointed out. “...We don’t talk about how I broke the scope. Linda will never forgive me for that, and Linda’s not here. Betcha she wouldn’t wanna help with this, you know how she is,” Alaska replied bluntly as a sharp bump in the road caused him to get jostled around more than he expected. “Carris, would you slow down, I haven’t got a seat back here,” he suggested. “Sorry! But I want to get this done before it gets dark,” Carris explained as she brought the Warthog to a halt, it's tyres sliding briefly on the icy surface. “C’mon, there should be some over the ridge,” she exclaimed as she hopped out of the Warthog, before grabbing the rifle from where she’d stowed it. “Exactly why have you dragged me out here anyway? I was perfectly comfortable lying on that sofa,” Joseph asked, getting a grin from Carris and a chuckle from Alaska before he answered. “We’re going big game hunting, of course!” Alaska shouted as he climbed out of the Warthog, only to receive a glare from Joseph that could have frozen lava on sight. “We’re hunting a couple of Moa for a Christmas meal, but since I’m a lousy shot, and Al’s idea of precision shooting is a hail of gunfire, we need you to do the trigger pulling,” Carris clarified, only to receive a ‘are you shitting me!’ look from Joseph. “Wait, you dragged me out here, just to shoot some birds!” Joseph snapped, annoyed at having been dragged all this distance to shoot at a couple of dumb birds, “Are you kidding me, just get close and even you two couldn’t miss!” he ranted as he struggled to climb out of the Warthog. “Jesus Joseph, calm down, you know how flighty Moa are, by the time we’d get close enough to be able to hit them, they’d be long gone,” Carris replied, ignoring Joseph’s mood, as she slung the rifle over her shoulder. “Anyway your here now, so just grin and bear it,” she remarked as Alaska strolled around to Joseph, man-handling the smaller Spartan onto his back. “This is degrading!” Joseph noted angrily, now in a piggyback position on Alaska’s back, “And if you’re carrying me, watch my knee will you,” he added as Alaska followed Carris into the trees. Alaska responded by carefully shifted his unlikely ‘backpack’ so Joseph could safely keep his injured knee out of the way. It was a strange study in differences, with the tall and solidly built Alaska toting around the small, lean Joseph as if he were only a child. “Sorry, but with all this snow, we don’t want to hurt yourself,” Alaska apologized as the trio moved towards a snowy hill, which would have bogged down Joseph even without his crutches, but which Carris and Alaska took in their strides with ease, even with 285 pounds of extra weight on Alaska’s back. “Shush, there's a flock of them up here, pretty big ones as well, so hurry up before they move!” Carris ordered from further up the hill, prompting Alaska to quicken his pace, whilst being mindful of Joseph’s leg. Finally, the pair reached the top of the hill, revealing a wide-open plain with a large flock of Moa grazing on one of the few patches of snowless grass. “Alright Joseph, your up,” she motioned, offering Joseph the rifle, who simply groaned before gesturing for Alaska to set him down on a nearby tree stump. “Alright! But I’m not helping get the things afterwards,” Joseph stated as he took the rifle from Carris, checked the chamber and magazine, before sighting up at the distant targets. Panning around, Joseph estimated the range was around 900 yards, quickly he selected the two biggest Moa that were away from the main flock. Slowly he panned between his two targets, observing the pair as did so, his finger tapping against the trigger guard. Satisfied by what he saw, he moved his finger to the trigger, took a deep breath and centred his scope on the first Moa, pulling the trigger in time with his heartbeat. To Carris and Alaska, watching next to him, it didn’t sound like two separate shots, just a long, singular one, such was the speed that Joseph sent his two rounds downrange. Immediately the remaining Moa scattered into the nearby trees, leaving only the bodies of the two Moa Joseph had just gunned down, lying in the snow. “You’re up Al,” he remarked as released the magazine, then cycled the bolt to make the weapon safe. Alaska simply nodded, and lazily jogged to the two Moa that Joseph neatly bagged. He dug around in the thigh pockets of his cargo pants before pulling out a length of heavy cord. With a muffled swear, he bound the feet of the Moa together thus making them easier to carry. After tucking the cord back into a pocket, Alaska slung the two large Moa over his broad shoulders, “Boom, dinner has been acquired. Epic shots, Joseph. This is why we brought you...since um...Carris and I can’t do that!” Alaska shouted, Joseph simply shrugged at this, he’d made much tougher shots against enemies that had been actively trying to either avoid his aim or had been trying to kill him. So a couple of Moa had been comparatively easy pickings. Carris meanwhile, hadn’t been idle either, having run back to the hog to bring it into the clearing, only stopping to allow Joseph to climb awkwardly into the passenger seat. “C’mon Al, the sooner we get these back, the sooner we can put the grinch back to bed!” Carris exclaimed jokingly as she parked the Warthog in front of Alaska. The green-grey eyes of Alaska betrayed just how impressed he was with her parking manoeuvre. He tossed the two Moa into the back of the Warthog with minimal effort. He glanced at Joseph, “Hey, I hate to tell you this but you’re gonna have to ride kind of in my arms…” Alaska explained, Joseph, however, simply shook his head and gestured to the bed of the Warthog. “There's plenty of room back there,” Joseph replied, getting a confused look from Alaska, “If you wanted me to help, you should’ve been prepared to handle to consequences,” he added dryly. Alaska quickly glanced at Carris, who gave Alaska an apologetic shrug, indicating that Joseph wasn’t joking. Alaska rolled his eyes and glanced to the back of the Warthog, then back to Joseph. “Alright, I guess I owe you one for bagging these beuts,” Alaska shrugged as he climbed into the back, putting one Moa either side of himself, keeping the weight balanced evenly. “Ok, the sun’ll be down in about an hour, so I want to be back by then,” Carris exclaimed as she dropped the hog into gear, roaring off back towards the base, with Alaska smiling with childish glee at the sight of the birds, whilst Joseph sat in silence, utterly bored at the days events. December 25th, 2544, 09:17 Hrs Highland Mountains, Viery Territory Reach, Epsilon Eridani system Snow whipped across the windows as Alaska gazed out of the windows from the warmth of the lounge, mentally thanking himself for getting a Christmas tree the day before, which now stood in an empty corner of the room. Boxes of decorations sat so far unused next to it, due to Carris and Alaska having both decided to wait until everyone else had arrived before decorating it. Fortunately, they wouldn’t have to wait long as word had reached them that the other Spartan-II’s would be arriving this morning, which in Alaska’s opinion was pretty much one of the best Christmas presents he could get. Glancing around, he found Carris sitting in a chair re-reading a book on how to cook Moa, having appointed herself the sole cook for the meal, and prohibiting Alaska from entering the kitchen without supervision. The two Moa they had caught a few days before we're sitting in the bases industrial fridge, having been plucked, stuffed and prepared to be roasted in the massive ovens that were pre-heating at that very moment, along with the mountains of vegetables that filled up the rest of said fridge. Joseph meanwhile was lying on what was rapidly becoming ‘his’ couch, having refused to participate in any of the preparation, pretending to sleep, but silently watching with a look of indifference on his face. Alaska was growing concerned with Joseph’s behaviour, especially his attitude towards everyone else, which at best could be described as ‘toleration’. “Hey...um...Joseph. Look, you gotta maybe try to...smile I guess, you’re killing the rest of us with this sour mood. C’mon, you’re with your siblings AND getting an awesome meal that SOMEONE won’t let ME taste-test!” Alaska half-shouted to be certain Carris was made aware of his opinion on being banned from the kitchen. Joseph meanwhile just stared at Alaska, but instead of replying just rolled his eyes and went back to staring off into space. “Jesus Joseph, you need to lighten up, everyone else is going to be here soon and they don’t want the first thing they see to be your miserable face,” Carris chimed in, trying to prompt Joseph out of the darkness that he had slipped into. However, just as Joseph was about to respond, probably with a sarcastic comment, they all heard the sound of the outer door opening, followed by heavy footsteps to be heard in the adjoining corridor. Quickly Alaska and Carris scrambled to their feet, heading for the door, whilst Joseph hoisted himself to his feet and followed on his crutches, still nursing his injured leg. “Man, that snows something,” the unmistakable voice of Fred mused, as Alaska and Carris rounded the corner into the hall, just as he pulled off his thick coat. Next to him some of the other Spartans gave murmurs of agreement, Kelly meanwhile could only snigger before giving her view on the subject. “What's the matter Fred, concerned about your hair going whiter?” Kelly remarked, getting a few chuckles out of their fellow Spartans, Fred however simply smirked at this remark, having gotten used to all of the jokes his greying hair had brought him over the years. “Pfft, I’m so glad I’m a blonde! And being the youngest out of all of us does have perks!” Alaska snickered, catching the collective attention of the other Spartans. It was clear that Alaska may never show his age well, in fact, he could not manage a wisp of facial hair, while nearly all of his brothers did have to shave. “Al, it's good to see you,” Fred greeted, offering his hand to the much larger Spartan, who took it and gave it a firm, but not too strong shake. “Fred, you hear about the epic meal Carris is whipping together?” Alaska replied, prompting concerned glances from Fred and Kelly, both of whom, as with the other Spartans, were well aware of the relationship between Alaska and food, primarily him eating anything and everything he could get his hands on. “Please tell me you’ve accounted for his appetite?!” Kelly asked, glancing around Alaska to where Carris was standing, who simply smiled before she replied. “Well, there’s two Moa in-lieu of a turkey, so if that's not enough, nothing will!” Carris answered, prompting some sighs of relief from the assembled Spartans at the prospect of getting a decent portion of food. However, Linda, who had been towards the centre of the crowd, suddenly piped up. “Moa? Aren’t they notoriously flighty, how did you get those?” Linda queried, as she emerged from the crowd pulling off a beanie hat, allowing her blood-red hair to flow freely, followed by the unmistakable form of John, who offered the pair a friendly smile in-lieu of a more formal greeting. Carris, meanwhile, simply paused, trying to think of an appropriate way of introducing Joseph, receiving a concerned look from John as a result. Instead, Carris simply gestured over her shoulder, drawing all assembled eyes towards Joseph, who was leaning against the wall, his green-eyed seemingly joyless, even on such a special occasion as this. “Joseph,” John greeted warmly as Kelly and Fred exchanged concerned looks, both had been present when Joseph had initially been injured and had seen first hand how he had reacted to this event. “John,” Joseph replied coldly as he shifted weight onto his good leg, John quickly glanced at Alaska and Carris, who’s eyes told him all he and the other Spartans needed to know. “Ok, well if everyone would like to get sorted out, there's a lounge next door for you to amuse yourselves whilst I cook dinner,” Carris cut in, returning everyone's attention to the event at hand. “Ok, you heard her,” Fred ordered playfully, snapping the other Spartans back into action, who busied themselves with removing their outdoor clothing, whilst Carris disappeared into the kitchen. Alaska meanwhile could only glance back at Joseph, who was already limping back into the lounge, unaware or more likely not caring at all about how much of a grinch he was being. December 25th, 2544, 16:28 Hrs Highland Mountains, Viery Territory Reach, Epsilon Eridani system Joseph watched the scene in front of him with disinterest, August, Robert, Leon and Naomi were busying themselves with decorating the tree, under the supervision of Linda, who had appointed herself in charge of the whole endeavour. Off to one side, Alaska was chatting eagerly with Jorge and James, the two other heavy weapons specialists and without doubt, the next strongest Spartans in the room, whilst Talon piped into the conversation occasionally where he could. Fred, Will, Maria and of all people Grace had joined Carris in the kitchen, giving her a few, much-needed pairs of hands, especially given the proportions of the meal they were cooking. Issac, Vihn, Joshua and Malcolm meanwhile, had disappeared into the canteen, having ‘volunteered’ to set the table for dinner, and had been absent for some time. The other Spartans were meanwhile grouped around what had become an impromptu bar of sorts, not that there was any risk of harm to them from the alcohol they were consuming, as it was hypothetically impossible to get a Spartan drunk, not that nobody had been trying. This left Joseph free to lie on the couch, unbothered by the events around him. Until Kelly and John marched up to him, the latter's face tinted with a mixture of annoyance and a slight hint of anger, whilst the former was slightly warmer, though a hint of concern was present also. “Joseph, could we speak to you outside?” Kelly asked quietly, gesturing towards the door. Sighing Joseph acquiesced, reaching for his crutches, refusing any help for either Kelly or John in doing so, before hobbling out of the room, followed by the pair. Alaska meanwhile paid little attention to this, instead, he was more focused on his current conversation. “So there I am, a horde of Grunts about 10 seconds from steamrolling me, with only a Warthog with a wrecked gun for company,” James explained, pausing to sip the drink he was holding, “Anyway, I, since I think I’ve got nothing to lose, hop in the hog, gun the thing whilst pulling hard opposite lock, and hey presto, instant Grunt catapult… mind you, it nearly made me hurl!” he laughed, prompting chuckles from his companions. To Alaska’s right, was his commanding officer and adopted older brother, Talon, shook his head and wiped a tissue across the raw scar on his face, “HA! Nothing compared to the insane stunt someone pulled saving my ass from the clusterfuck that cost me my arm. I took a team on a strike to take down a major command post. Of course, you send a single Spartan with a bunch of greenhorn Marines and you expect nothing to go wrong? Idiots. The Marines all bit the dust thanks to Jackal snipers and that left me to deal with a lance of Zealots! One of ‘em tore my right arm off....not much I could do missing an arm that had my shotgun still gripped in it,” Talon paused, gesturing with his robotic right arm, “But all of a few seconds later, I hear a machine gun open up and all I saw was the Zealots running and dropping, full of bullets. This big brute that I call my little brother grabbed me and hauled me out of that mess…and thankfully remembered to grab my shotgun from my dead hand.” he added, patting Alaska on his shoulder as a gesture of how much he owed him his life. “Aaaaaw, it was nothing, Talon. You’re my older brother, and hey, I gave Danforth a whole set of white hairs when he realized I bucked his orders and ran off to save you!” Alaska laughed as Talon shook his head and punched Alaska gently in the side, “Yet I still call you my little brother...how did I end up with you…” Talon mused, Alaska however, misinterpreted this, for all his strength he lacked some of the social cues that his fellow Spartans possessed. “Um well, you did kinda get stuck with me…” Alaska mumbled as he glanced to his older brother, who, realising his mistake, gave Alaska a reassuring rub on his back, illustrating how much he appreciated the relationship he and Alaska had. “You two work well together, you know that?” Jorge commentated as he munched on a handful of cocktail sausages that someone had brought for some reason. “Yeah, they do, like a deadly Laurel and Hardy!” James joked, causing all 4 Spartans, even the more stoic Jorge to burst out laughing hysterically, even getting some sideways glances from the other Spartans in the process. In the kitchen, on the other hand, were scenes of organised chaos, Carris was watching the Moas like a hawk watching its prey, constantly taking temperature readings from the digital probes she’d stuck into the plump birds, in-between glancing at the cookbook she was working out of. “Relax Carris, everything will be fine,” Fred offered as he slaved away at the mountain of potatoes that had been gathered for the meal, coating each one in a layer of Moa fat, which would crispen each to perfection once they were put in the oven. “Yeah, relax, after being stuck on military rations for the last 4-months, anything will be delicious,” Maria added as she and Grace busied themselves with the trays of vegetables, making sure each one went into the oven at the correct time and temperature. “Right, sorry, I’m just…” Carris trailed off, her mind slipping back to Joseph briefly. When she’d first arrived and seen the state he was in, she had been bothered by his mood, but confident that he would eventually snap out of this ‘funk’ and bounce back stronger than ever. But now, she was growing concerned that the Joseph she knew would never return, replaced with the emotionless husk of a person that she now saw. “Joseph?” Grace asked, receiving a nod from Carris in silent reply, “Look, Carris, you shouldn’t beat yourself up over him, he isn’t your problem, so it's not your fault,” she pointed out, trying to comfort her friend. “Are you guys talking about Joseph?” Will asked as he entered, having taken through a selection of condiments for Joshua to set the table with. “Because I just saw him, Kelly and John slinking off, and none of them looked happy!” he explained, prompting a few worried looks amongst them. “Alright, what's the matter?” Joseph asked sarcastically as he leaned against a wall in one of the bases abandoned corridors. John, however simply glanced at Kelly, who nodded for him to take the lead, before replying. “Joseph, your acting out of line,” John began, trying to walk a line between friendliness to his fellow Spartan and firmness to someone who needed speaking to. “Look, I know what you’ve been through, and I sympathise, but you need to stop taking it out on us,” he continued, placing his hand on Joseph’s shoulder in a comforting manner. Joseph, however, abruptly shrugged off John, a look of fury having overtaken his eyes. “You sympathise! What do you know about what I’ve been through!” Joseph growled, taking Kelly and John by surprise. “What do you know about loss?! The only person you’ve lost in any of your teams in combat was Sam, who died because you missed a jackal and he took the hit for you!” he snarled, all the pent up anger and rage that he had been stewing in for the past few months finally being released. “Joseph you need to…” Kelly cut-in, trying to calm Joseph down, but all this caused him to do was to turn his attention and anger on her instead. “Do you have any idea what it is like to lose your entire team? To lose everyone who you swore to protect?! It's like being stabbed in the heart, and I should know since I’ve lost my entire team twice!” Joseph interrupted furiously, glaring daggers at Kelly. “I lost Gold team on Miridem and my other team…” he paused briefly, bowing his head in thought. To Kelly and John, it appeared like he was recalling when his first team had died. During the augmentations that had claimed thirty of their number, leaving only Joseph and one other survivor, but that hadn’t lasted much longer either, with the team dissolving as the two drifted apart in the aftermath of the tragedy. But Joseph knew the truth, his original team hadn’t died as a result of augmentations, only one of them had suffered that fate, the other four, however, had taken a different path to meet the reaper. Two had shot themselves after discovering the truth about their abduction, the third, Ralph, had been discharged and labelled dead, a fate which had been confirmed in 2537 on Eirene. The final one, Daisy, she had survived the mess that consumed their remaining friends, but her betrayal of Joseph's trust had resulted in him considering her dead to him, a fate which, like Ralph, had become official on the surface of Eirene. Leaving him the only one left standing, only he and Carris knew the truth, her having extracted it from him after Ralph and Daisy’s deaths. For a moment he considered telling them it also, setting them free from the lies Halsey and ONI had fed them, but he decided against it, they weren’t ready, he hadn’t been when he’d found out himself, and Carris’s reaction hadn’t been much better than his, and so he remained quiet. “Well, we all know what happened there!” Joseph continued, returning to view to the pair, the anger that had erupted within him, finally subsiding. But when he did so, he saw the damage he had done. John could barely look at him, and Kelly looked visibly hurt at his outburst. Then deep inside him, he felt something, something that had been smothered by the anger and rage, which now re-emerged from where he had buried it, Regret. “Shit, I’m sorry guys, I’ve… I’ve…” he trailed off, feeling tears start to spring in his eyes, the full extent of his ‘assholery’ coupled with the repressed emotions of the months in traction finally surfacing. “I’m sorry, I fucked up, and I… I put you guys through hell because of it,” Joseph sobbed, only to feel a pair of arms to wrap around his shoulders in a comforting hug. “There, there Joseph, we know you didn’t mean it, you just needed to vent,” Kelly comforted, as John rested a hand on Josephs's shoulder. Despite his outburst, they knew he had just been venting, and while it had been hurtful, they knew he needed to get it out of his system. “Look, Joseph…” John began as Kelly released Joseph from her grip, but kept an arm on his shoulder as a sign of support, “...I said after Miridem that there was a spot for you on Blue Team, and I’m standing by that. So when you get cleared, I’ll arrange the transfer,” he offered, despite his faults Joseph needed a solid team to work with after Gold Teams destruction. “Ok guys, dinners ready!” Carris announced, catching everyone's attention, followed by the distant sounds of footsteps as the other Spartans made their way to the canteen, turn dining room. “C’mon guys lets get some food,” Kelly suggested, receiving a nod from Joseph who had managed to wipe away any evidence that he had been crying, bar the slight redness of his eyes before the three slowly made their way back to where dinner was being served. The dinner table had been laid-out surprisingly well given the lack of table fixtures, with eleven seats per-side, with one at the head of the table. The two Moa had already been carved into thick slices of juicy meat and were spread across plates along the length of the table in thick piles, with massive bowls of vegetables, stuffing, and crispy potatoes. John took the seat at the top of the table, which was only fitting as his status was as the de-facto leader of the Spartan-II’s, with Fred, Linda, James and Kelly sitting next to him. Joseph found himself seated between Kelly, who had engineered it so that she and John could keep an eye on him, and Carris, who was doing likewise. Carris was surprised when Joseph had returned from his chat with John and Kelly, she had expected him to either come back in a worse mood than before or not at all, so to see him looking like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders, was an unexpected outcome. Opposite the pair were Alaska and Talon, the former to keep an eye on his calorie intake, and the latter, due to his closeness to Alaska. “So, I know I’m not one for speeches, but I would just like to take a moment to thank a few people,” John began, standing to draw everyone's attention. “Firstly I’d like to thank Carris, Fred, Grace, Maria and Will, for cooking this entire feast for us, here's hoping it's better than emergency rations,” he joked, prompting Carris and the others who had helped her to take a small bow as the others gave them a round of applause. “Next I’d like to mention Alaska, who is the one who suggested this meal, and given the proportions, there might be enough for the rest of use,” John chuckled, prompting a few laughs from everyone as Talon patted Alaska on the shoulder. “And finally, I’d like to draw some attention to Joseph, who despite having a terrible year, losing his team and suffering a crippling injury, kindly sourced the main event. I can only offer my thanks for that,” he offered, prompting a subtle smile from Joseph, which caused a few raised eyebrows as this was the first time anyone had seen him smile since before Miridem. “Alright, now that's out of the way, let's eat,” John announced, to a chorus of cheers from the other Spartans, who wasted no time in tucking into the feast. Before long jokes and stories were being exchanged, with laughter and smiles following soon after. What none of them realised, was the next time most of them would be on Reach, they would be fighting for their lives as the planet, many of them considered their home, fell around them. Many would find their grave on Reach, a few others though, wouldn’t even live to see that day.